A hopper car is a railroad freight car which is utilized to transport loose bulk commodities, such as grain, sugar, sand, ores, cement, gravel, fertilizer and other bulk commodities. Hopper cars typically have an enclosure which tapers downward to funnel the bulk material to the bottom of the car for discharge. At the bottom of the enclosure is a discharge chute or gate which is typically attached to a steel adapter frame at the bottom of the hopper car. The discharge gate is opened to unload the transported material. Alternatively, if the transported materials is unloaded in a different manner (for example, some hopper cars are emptied with vacuum hoses which attach to outlets at the bottom of the car), it may still be necessary to open the gate to clean out the enclosure after the material has been removed. The gates may be opened either by mechanical or pneumatic operation.
The gates are typically constructed of steel, aluminum or stainless steel and may be either bolted on or welded to the bottom of the hopper car. Because of the construction material, the gate assemblies are typically very heavy. The gates typically have a “v” profile pointing toward the ground. Typically the gate is secured to the steel adapter frame by a large number of large bolts, usually 32 bolts.
Correct functioning of the hopper gate requires that the gate mechanism and the components of the hopper car adjacent to the gate be periodically serviced. Servicing of the gate typically requires that the gate itself be disconnected from the steel adapter frame. Sometimes the gate and adjacent components can be serviced merely by removing all of the attachment bolts and lowering the hopper gate from the hopper car. At other times the entire gate mechanism must be separated from the hopper car and transported elsewhere for servicing. In either case, it is necessary to separate the hopper gate from the hopper car.
Because the hopper gate is typically very heavy, safeguards must be taken to prevent injury to personnel and equipment when the hopper gate is separated from the hopper car. The situation is complicated by the limited clearance between the bottom of the hopper car—forming an upper barrier—and the ground surface and railroad rails—forming a lower barrier. Service people performing maintenance on a hopper car must therefore work within this relatively cramped space between the upper barrier and lower barrier on a heavy and bulky device.
A typical method of working on the hopper gate is to utilize two people and a fork lift. One person operates the fork lift, and positions the forks, typically with a pallet spanning the forks, underneath the gate, prepared for the weight of the hopper gate to be supported by the pallet once all of the bolts attaching the hopper gate to the hopper car are removed. The second person utilizes a tool to remove the approximately 32 bolts (or nuts as the case may be) which hold the hopper gate in position.
The known method described above is inefficient in that it requires at least two persons and a fork lift. The fork lift operator may spend a significant amount of time simply waiting on the other persons to remove the fasteners which secure the hopper gate to the bottom of the car. However, it is important that the fork lift operator stay at the fork lift controls during this operation. The pallet may require repositioning as bolts are removed. Moreover, when the gate comes loose and its weight fully supported by the pallet, the load might shift thereby requiring adjustment in the fork position or lowering of the forks to protect persons near the hopper gate and to prevent damage to the gate.
As also suggested above, the known method presents potential physical hazard to the person who removes the bolts which hold the very heavy gate to the bottom of the hopper car. For example, as bolts are removed from the gate, the load of the gate is transferred to the remaining bolts, with the full load distributed to the remaining bolts. If any of the remaining bolts is defective and fails, the gate could fall to the pallet and roll off, presenting a risk to nearby personnel. Moreover, as stated above and shown in FIG. 1, the gates typically have a “v” profile pointing toward the ground, but the pallets are flat. Therefore, once the load of the gate is transferred from the bolts to the pallet, the gate may shift on the pallet and potentially fall off of the pallet.
A device and a method which provides for the safe removal of a hopper gate from a hopper car is therefore desirable. A device and method which also allows for a reduction in personnel required for the removal of a hopper gate is also desirable.